Origins

THE ORIGINS OF THE LAUS PLENA FOUNDATION

The idea of creating a foundation or a religious order of “laudari”, dedicated to sacred music and chant, dates back to the youth of the Franciscan father, Maestro Armando Pierucci, a musician and composer of the Regione Marche (Italy), who has been for 26 years the organist of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, he also founded, in 1995, for the Custody of the Holy Land, the "Magnificat" Institute of music, with the scope of training musicians for the service in the sanctuaries of the Holy Land: his proposal was to enhance the quality of the musical service in church through the collaboration with secular music conservatories (the Magnificat Institute collaborates with the Conservatory A. Pedrollo of Vicenza (I), with which it release academic degrees of first and second level).

In the Holy City, where he remained until 2014, Maestro Pierucci coordinated humbly and with passion the musical service of the complex liturgies of Christianity for the Roman Catholic Church, contributing to the revision and definition of the rites practiced in the Holy Shrines (with researches into the practice of the first centuries), which were then approved by the Holy See. He also supported the local tradition of sacred music, with the harmonization of thousands of hymns and sacred songs in Arabic, an important part of which were published in two editions of the Hymnal of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Through the musical service in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, which is shared with the other Christian confessions, Father Pierucci also became acquainted to the liturgical musical traditions of other Churches, gradually discovering all their richness and beauty, and composing several works inspired by them. Among these, the "Eucharistic Symphony", inspired by liturgical songs of twelve different Christian Churches present in Jerusalem (performed first in their original form by the chantors of the latter, and then in the symphonic development composed by Fr. Pierucci), was an exceptional moment of condivision and communion among the Christian confessions, at the occasion of the world premiere in the garden of Gethsemane (September 2012): The presence of all the heads and representatives of the Jerusalem Churches, and the genuine respect and trust that created among their musicians were among its most remarkable fruits.

After the return of Father Pierucci to Italy in November 2014, the idea was born to fulfil the old dream, extending it to what had been the fundamental and unique ecclesial experience of Jerusalem: a friendly relationship with the musicians of the other Christian confessions, for a cultural cooperation at international level. With the support of a group of friends and supporters, the Laus Plena Foundation was established on 24 July 2015.